Building secure, safe and healthy environments for children

Only about 25 per cent of sponsored children’s families have access to safe drinking water all year. That means the vast majority of families have no choice but to drink contaminated water, which causes diarrhoea and other illnesses that can be life-threatening if left untreated in children.

To increase access to clean water, we supported projects to build or improve 55 water facilities. Shufaa, aged 17, explained the effects of one such project: 

“I had been using water from shallow wells; my mother could not afford to buy it from the vendor. We were at high risk of getting diseases, such as cholera, but we had no alternative. We were experiencing a big shortage of water. Now, we have enough water for our domestic needs from the boreholes. We thank Plan for supporting the construction of a community well